To further advance our understanding of the efficacy of inventory-based premarital education programs, this
study examined whether the effects of the PREPARE program varied by delivery format. Following
participation in the program, engaged couples exhibited positive gains in knowledge, felt more
confident in their relationship, engaged in more positive conflict management behaviors, and felt
more satisfied with their relationship. No differences were found between participants who completed
a series of conjoint sessions versus a 1-day group workshop. These findings highlight the
robustness of premarital education and suggest group workshops can have similar effectiveness
as the more prevalent conjoint sessions.

This study evaluated the impact of a marital enrichment program called CONNECT that was based conceptually on the PREPARE/ENRICH Program and couple exercises. The program significantly improved the couples' relationship on the 12 PREPARE-ENRICH scales while the control group decreased their scores.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the PREPARE Program (Version 2000) for couples receiving premarital counseling by professionals and clergy trained in the standard 1-day training workshop. There were 153 premarital couples in three groups: the PREPARE Program group (59 couples who received an average of four feedback sessions), the PREPARE No Feedback group (46 couples who received feedback after the post-test), and the Waiting List Control Group (48 couples who received PREPARE and feedback after the post-test).

Results found that only the PREPARE Program group significantly increased their couple satisfaction, while there was no change in the PREPARE No Feedback or the Waiting List Control groups. Couples in the PREPARE Program improved in 10 out of 13 relationship categories, while those in the PREPARE No Feedback group increased in 4 of the 13 categories.

Significant changes were made in the couple types only in the PREPARE Program group, demonstrating a significant impact on 90% of these couples. In the PREPARE Program group, the number of Vitalized couples (the most satisfied type) increased by 52% from pre to post-test. Over half (55%) of the three other couple types (Harmonious, Traditional, and Conflicted) increased one or more levels. For the highest risk couples, the Conflicted types, 83% moved to a more positive couple type.

In a comprehensive review of eight Marriage Preparation Education Programs (MPEP) by Geniel Childs (2009), the PREPARE/ENRICH Group Program ranked first in Content with a score of 92% and the Instruction Process score was 90%.

The overall Content Score of 92% was based on four criteria: theory and research (97%), context (82%), practice (96%), and premarital predictors (88%). The overall Instruction Process score of 90% was based on two criteria and the scores for those two areas for Teaching Plans was 88% and for Presentation was 92%.

This longitudinal study followed up on 25 married couples one to five years after marriage who had taken both the PREPARE/ENRICH and the Couple Communication programs before marriage. Overall, the results demonstrated the couples were very satisfied with both programs and also found the combination of two programs very valuable. The couples significantly improved their communication, conflict resolution skills and marital satisfaction. Couples reported they found it helpful to their marriage to coach other couples on communication skills.

Once your church or community has a trained and
certified PREPARE/ENRICH professional, you might
consider establishing a Marriage Mentor Program
to help premarital couples get more preparation or married couples get the assistance
they need for healthier relationships.